Final Project Explanation

Legal Translation Project

• The final project replaces the final exam.
• It involves translating a long text with problematic cases.
• Problems arise from terms lacking direct equivalents in the target language (Arabic or Kurdish) or complex sentence structures.
• Strategies include finding equivalents, restructuring sentences, and reordering terms for naturalness in the target language.

Source Text

• Use the official UK government website (www.gov.uk) for legal texts.
• The website provides information on various legal aspects of the UK government and legal system.
• Navigate the A-Z list to find a topic of interest, such as the age of criminal responsibility.
• Example: The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10 years old.

Project Details

• Translate approximately 1,000 words in total.
• Compile text from different links on the website.
• Copy and paste the English text into a Word or Google document to track word count.
• Translate the compiled text into Arabic or Kurdish.

Highlighting and Justification

• After translating, identify 15 terms that were challenging to translate.
• Explain the strategies or techniques used to address these challenges.

Alternative Source Text

• If you have an existing legal text, you can use that instead of the UK government website.

Website Topics

• The UK government website covers topics such as:
  • Benefits
  • Birth, death, marriage
  • Business and self-employment
  • Childcare and parenting
  • Citizenship and living in the UK
  • Crime, justice, and the law
  • Legal rights of disabled people
  • Driving and transportation
  • Education and learning

Translation Theory Project

• Find a text to translate, for example, there is a text from the BBC website about "Manectopia".
• The article discusses residential projects in Manchester, UK.
• "Manectopia" is a blended term derived from "Manchester" and "utopia."
• The text explores the demolition of existing houses to build modern flats.

Translation Challenges

• The text contains idiomatic expressions and terms that require specific translation strategies.
• Example: "not everyone's cup of tea" means not everyone's favorite.

Translation Theories

• Apply one of the translation theories learned during the semester:
  • Linguistic theory
  • Functional theory
  • Equivalence
  • Domestication and foreignization

Domestication and Foreignization

• Domestication: Adapting the translation to the target culture, making it feel local.
• Foreignization: Retaining foreign elements in the translation to expose the target reader to the source culture.
• Lawrence Venuti advocates for foreignization, arguing that source texts always retain foreign elements.
• Venuti believes foreign elements enrich the target reader's understanding of other cultures.

Examples of Domestication and Foreignization

• Food terms: Adapting or explaining foreign food terms for a target audience (domestication) versus keeping the original term with explanations (foreignization).
• Cultural events: Replacing a foreign event like Halloween with a similar local event (domestication) or keeping the name "Halloween" to introduce the concept (foreignization).

Project Requirements

• Introduce the source text (author, subject matter, word count).
• Translate the text according to a chosen translation theory.
• Explain which theory was used, why it was chosen, and how it was applied during the translation process.
• Provide examples of how the chosen theory influenced translation decisions.

Office Hours

• Office hours are available for questions and consultations regarding both the legal translation and translation theory projects.
• Specific times: Sunday 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM and Monday during usual office hours.